You’ll recall Okafor as the tall fellow who won a national championship at UConn. I thought Orlando should’ve taken him first overall that summer, over Dwight Howard. And while Okafor is by no means a bust (13 and 10 career averages), it’s probably a good thing I’m writing this from my couch and not someone’s front office.

And you may remember Ariza as the versatile wing who won an NBA championship with Kobe. He signed a relatively big deal after that (five years, $33 million), and I haven’t heard from him since. Again, writing this from my couch.

Lewis will be remembered by NBA fans as the guy who got a nine-figure deal without being all that great of a player. He’ll be remembered by Wiz fans as the guy we got back for Gilbert Arenas and Arenas’ equally ill-advised nine-figure contract.

The 46th pick in next week’s draft probably won’t be remembered at all.

Okafor and Ariza are owed a combined $43 million through 2014 (Lewis can be bought out for $14 million before July 1), which is costly, but I like the deal. Okafor and Ariza are solid, defense-oriented vets, and this move leads me to think the Wiz won’t be drafting Thomas Robinson or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at 3.

I may be wrong about that too, but why draft a power forward (T-Rob) when you’ve already got Nene, Okafor and Seraphin, among others? And why draft a jackknife (MKG) when he can’t shoot and you’ve already got a wing to guard the perimeter?

That leaves Bradley Beal and Harrison Barnes on the board. Kneel for Beal.

Simply unloading the mind-blowing 2nd largest contract in the NBA ($22 mill) for anything — a bag of chips, a life-sized Manute poster — is a pretty sweet move. Okafor has stopped scoring but he should still be pretty stout in the paint. Ariza was probably tossed in to make the math add up. He was pretty fun to watch back in the Lakers days. Very happy. A frontline of Nene-Okafor will be pretty hardy on the glass, let them spring for a scoring 3-man.

Given Big Ern’s history of trades, I’ll take it. Adding two rotation players for 25 games of Rashard’s corpse and some guy who likely won’t make the team has to be a win. But rumor has it that NO was shopping one of those two with the 10th pick, which would have been a better deal and one I think could have been had by a better GM. Taking one of Okafor/Ariza and the 10th pick makes decisions in the upcoming draft much easier because it keeps MKG and T-Rob in play. Now, if Beal is taken at #2 you’re reaching for Barnes if you draft for need.

If nothing else the Wiz could potentially be a little crowded in the front court, which isn’t the worst thing I suppose.

This is an intermediate step rebuilding. These guys aren’t here to win the title. There here to be solid vets and leaders and hold down the fort for two years while the young guys develop. After the disaster that was having “Captain ‘Dray” and the fuck-a-teers leading the locker room, bringing in guys like this was a necessary part.

The cap room will be there in two years, when hopefully the young core (Wall, #3 pick this year, high pick next year, maybe Veseley) is ready to be the core and we can complement instead of supplant them.

This trade sucks. We give up flexibility (Lewis deal) for next year and beyond and get a dude who cant shoot (Ariza) and a guy with another big contract and a gimpy back (Okafor).

This is Ernie trying to get a team to be a 7 seed so he can boast about making the playoffs in an effort to save his job. There is no long-term future with these two, there could be long-term potential with more cap room. Nobody says you have to use it right away, wait for the guy we want.

After sleeping on this I have to agree with JP. This is Ernie playing for .500 and a 7 or 8 seed. This is still not a team to be reckoned with. Sure it wasn’t going to happen overnight but the option to have a ton of cap room is now gone.

Also, can we mock Leonsis now? So much for building through the draft philosophy!

I think this is a decent trade based on the answer to Jamie’s question. They would have done nothing good with this cap space, no one wants to come to DC for basketball.

This is a moral booster for players and fans, which is needed!! We won’t be a great team (maybe not even good) for the next couple of seasons, but we could still improve each year… This is actually a talent improvement and it should help our young guys. If we do improve and show progress, then this will help us resign players that matter and make this a more desirable destination for future free agents when we are actually ready to make that next step.

“Yeah I suppose this is just the Wizards’ version of prolonging the date to cap freedom while taking in some vets that can guide our young core.”

exactly exactly exactly.

“This is Ernie trying to get a team to be a 7 seed so he can boast about making the playoffs in an effort to save his job.”

I understand how you could see it that way, but Ernie has job security! Dude JUST signed an extension for Christ’s sake. Leonsis has an open track record of patience and loyalty, and evidence to back it up (see GMGM).